Perfect French Vinaigrette

In high school I had the good fortune to spend a year in Brittany, France with a host family. I was doubly blessed that Liliane, my host mother, was a famously good cook. Like my own personal Julia Child, she introduced me to French home cooking and taught me recipes such as this vinaigrette that I still make thirteen years later.

This is a zesty, acidic, highly flavorful salad dressing that doesn't taste heavy or greasy.  It's so delicious, simple, and quick to make that you'll never want to buy bottled again. I like it over a softer lettuce such as butter, red or green leaf, or frisée (curly endive). The French serve lightly dressed lettuce after the main course as a palate cleanser. Try it with a hunk of crusty bread, a slice of fresh goat cheese sprinkled with cracked black pepper, and fresh fruit. For a heartier main course salad, top your lettuce with a poached egg and crumbled bacon.

For 1/3 of a cup of dressing, enough for about 6 first course salads, you will need:

1/4 cup good extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons tart vinegar (sherry, white, or red wine)
2-3 teaspoons Dijon mustard 
1/2 clove garlic, grated or pressed (about 1/4 teaspoon)
Salt
Pepper
Herbs, optional (I like fresh oregano or tarragon, but dried works too)

Using a fork or a whisk, mix together the Dijon, garlic, herbs, and vinegar in a medium-sized bowl. Now vigorously whisk in the olive oil until the mixture is emulsified and there is no separation between the olive oil and vinegar. (The mustard binds the oil and water together.) Taste and add salt and pepper.

Make sure your lettuce is well washed, dried, chilled, and torn into manageable forkfuls. Put about 2 tablespoons of dressing per salad in the bottom of your serving bowl, add lettuce, and gently toss. Taste the lettuce and add more dressing or salt and pepper if necessary. Serve immediately after dressing.

Vietnamese Summer Rolls with Garlic Shrimp

I used to live in San Francisco, and there is an amazing little Vietnamese banh mi sandwich shop on Larkin Street called Saigon Sandwich where, for $3, you can get the most delicious sweet/salty/savory/tangy roast pork-on-baguette sandwich you've ever had. (Over 1000 Yelp reviews don't lie.) In addition to the banh mi, they have a vast array of technicolor sweets, shrimp chips, mochi filled with bean paste, and my favorite, fresh summer rolls with shrimp.

I can eat 4 big summer rolls in one sitting. They have so much fresh flavor, and after a meal you feel light and clean and full all at the same time. (Lots of raw veggies do the trick.) They're obviously great in the summer and make excellent finger food at a party, but I've been making them a lot this winter - they're the perfect antidote to the rich, cold weather comfort food that I normally eat this time of year, and you can use up whatever raw vegetables, salad ingredients, and protein, you have in the fridge - the ones below are just suggestions.

You'll need an hour to wash, dry, and chop the veggies, prep the rice noodles, cook the shrimp, and make the sauce, but once that's done, assembly is fast and easy. Have everything set out in separate bowls when you're ready to put the rolls together. Make sure the veggies and noodles are well-drained/dry, or the wrappers will get soggy. You can make the rolls all at once and keep them in the fridge for a day or two in plastic wrap, or you can store the filling ingredients in separate containers for 2-3 days and assemble the rolls as you need them. The rolls make an excellent brown bag lunch. And the leftover filling ingredients make are nice as a salad when dressed with the dipping sauce.

Pair with my friend Leah's delicious Orange Mojitos, see below!

For about 20 large rolls (serving 4-5 for a meal) you will need:

Butter, boston, red/green leaf, or other soft lettuce leaves, torn into 2" by 3" pieces
Mung bean sprouts, about  1/2 lb
2 jalapeño peppers, sliced lenthwise into thin strips. If you like heat, leave the seeds and ribs in
1 cup each cilantro and mint leaves, removed from stems
1 large, raw purple beet, scrubbed, peeled, and julienned (sliced into 1/4 inch thick disks, then cut into matchsticks. Your fingers will stain pink, so wear rubber gloves if you're concerned about that)
1 large carrot, julienned
Dried rice vermicelli or mung bean threads, softened in warm water and drained. If you are so inclined, mix the noodles with the freshly chopped beats. They will stain a brilliant electric pink and look beautiful in the rolls.
About 1/2 cup roasted, salted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and cleaned. De-vein if the veins along the back of the shrimp look dirty.  DO NOT RINSE unless they are very dirty or sandy. You'll wash the flavor away! (Any shrimp are fine. When they're in season, small, shell-on wild Maine rock shrimp are nice - they're sweet and succulent. You get between 40 and 60 shrimp small shrimp per pound, and you'll need about 3-4 small shrimp per roll. If you're using bigger shrimp, cut each in half lengthwise after you cook them, and use 3 halves per roll. This way they won't take up too much volume in the roll, and they look pretty under the skin of the wrapper.)
4 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Salt
Pepper
Olive or peanut oil
Rice paper spring roll wrappers I like 8 1/2 inch diameter wrappers. They come wrapped in clear cellophane and often say Galletes de Riz on the package. Make sure the package contains enough wrappers for the number of rolls that you plan to make, with a few extra for practice, as they are delicate and tear easily. My Red Rose brand has about 45-50 wrappers per 12 oz (340 grams) package. Because they get very sticky once softened, you will have to prepare the rice paper wrappers one at a time, as you need them.
Lukewarm water in a 9" or larger pie plate or other wide, shallow pan

Directions:

Heat oil over medium heat and saute garlic until slightly soft but not browned, about 30 seconds to a minute. Add the shrimp and cook until just pink and opaque on both sides. Cooking time will depend on the size of the shrimp, but will be brief.  Set aside to cool. If you are using large shrimp, cut in half lengthwise. If you are using small shrimp, leave whole.

Prep the other ingredients as described above and set up an assembly line on your counter. Now you're ready to make the rolls. Dip a rice paper wrapper in the water until it is just soft and pliable. Make sure the water is no warmer than tepid. Any warmer and the rice paper will become too soft and delicate to work with. Lay carefully on a plate and arrange 2-3 small shrimp or 2 large shrimp halves, cut side up, across the middle of the wrapper. Lay the cilantro and mint leaves down in a pretty pattern, then lay the vegetables, noodles, and peanuts on top

Roll like a burrito. It may take a few tries to figure out how much filling to add. You can make big, hefty rolls or more delicate rolls for a party. The less filling you use, the sturdier your rolls will be - there will be more wrapper to securing around the filling.


Serve the below dipping sauce in individual bowls; it is so tangy and addictive that double dipping will be rampant!

Other filling ingredients to try:

Jicama
Cucumber
Avocado
Pork grilled with honey and garlic
Tofu seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil
Red, green, and yellow bell peppers
Roasted eggplant
Summer squash such as zucchini or yellow crookneck
Mango
Papaya
Red or nappa cabbage, shredded
Asparagus spears
Fresh pineapple
Granny Smith apple slices
Watercress
Arugula

For 1 cup of dipping sauce:

1/2 cup lime juice, about three limes, rolled on countertop to help loosen juice
2 large cloves of garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Southeast Asian fish sauce, more if you really like fish sauce
1/2 - 1 teaspoon Sriracha hot chili sauce
1/2 cup hot water
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Mix together sauce ingredients. Taste and adjust to your preferences. You can serve immediately, or refrigerate for several hours or overnight if you have time.  If you are serving the sauce right away and like a strong raw garlic bite, use a clove of grated or pressed garlic rather than sliced.

For two Orange Mojitos:

Muddle a large handful of mint, 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, and the juice of 1/2 a lime in a cocktail shaker. Add 2 oz light rum, such as 10 Cane, and 3-4 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice. Fill shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Fill two highball glasses with ice and pour rum mixture until glasses are half full. Top each glass with ginger ale, stir, and garnish with mint and orange slices.

Irish Lamb Stew

When I was about sixteen, my dad and I drove up the Mendocino Coast of California for a father-daughter weekend. One night we were on the road after dark, and it was so foggy that we couldn't see the pavement in front of us. After a near miss with a deer and with a couple of grumbling stomachs, we stopped in the little town of Elk to wait out the fog. The town was dead quiet, save for a bustling little Irish pub with an open kitchen run by a team of frenzied Irish women who cooked wonderful food. I had an Irish stew garnished with spearmint, and though it was nearly fifteen year ago, I remember being delighted by the way the torn mint leaves sparkled against the earthy braised lamb. So in honor of St. Patrick's Day, and in honor of those Irish ladies working so hard in that kitchen in Elk, I give you my version of a classic Irish stew, in the very appropriate colors of green, white and orange.

Note: In the grand Irish tradition of my ancestors -feeding a lot of people on little food - I like a lot of broth in my stew. I like the broth to be fairly thin, rather than thickened with flour like a gravy, because it's better for dipping a delicious pain au levain or country sourdough bread. If you prefer less broth, feel free to omit up to 4 cups of the chicken stock from this recipe, and adjust the salt and other seasonings accordingly. Just make sure there's enough liquid to cover the potatoes. You should still be able to serve 5-6 people.

For approximately 5-6 servings, you will need:

2 pounds bone-in lamb shoulder chops (Mine were about 3/4 of an inch thick - use thicker chops if you can find them.)

1 pint white boiling (pearl) onions, peeled and left whole (about 12 onions, 1 inch in diameter) or 1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced. (Pearl onions are notoriously difficult to peel, so blanch first by dropping in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, then running under cool water to stop the cooking. Trim off the root ends and the onions will pop right out of their papery skins.

2 large carrots, roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

3 large ribs of celery, roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 cup pearl barley, rinsed.

1 can Guinness Stout, 14.9 ounces

8 cups homemade chicken stock or Swanson's Broth

10-12 small white potatoes, about 2 1/2 inches long, rinsed and scrubbed

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 large bay leaf

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil

Lots of chopped parsley and fresh mint leaves for garnish

Directions:

Another note: If you have a large enameled cast iron dutch oven or wide, deep casserole pot with a lid, you can sear the meat and cook the stew in the same pan. If, like me, you do not, use a saute pan or other wide, shallow pan to brown the meat, then switch to a stock pot for cooking the stew.

Pat the lamb dry with a paper towel and lightly salt on both sides. In a wide saute pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil to medium high until the oil shimmers.  Add the chops in batches, without crowding the pan, and quickly brown until you have good, dark color on the meat, about 2 minutes a side. You may need to add more olive oil for later batches. Put the browned chops in the separate pot you will be cooking the stew in.

Add more olive oil to the saute pan and quickly cook the onions, carrots, and celery until they soften a bit, about 3-5 minutes. Make sure the vegetables don't burn or get too dark. Now add the can of Guinness to deglaze and release all the delicious lamb drippings stuck to the bottom of the pan. Use a wooden scraper to help dissolve the drippings. Pour the vegetable and Guinness mixture over the meat and put the stock pot over high heat. Immediately add the chicken broth, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, pepper, potatoes, and barley. Stir together, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer over low heat for two hours, until the meat falls off the bone.

Fish out the bay leaf and discard. Remove the meat from the pot (tongs are great for this) and separate from the bones. Return the de-boned lamb to the pot, stir, and taste. Adjust the salt and pepper.

Right before serving, stir in chopped parsley. Ladle into big bowls, garnish with mint leaves, and serve with thick slices of a really good, hearty sourdough.

Erin Go Bragh!

Oven-Broiled Shrimp with Garlic and Jalapeño

I'm a big fan of those deep-fried salt and pepper shrimp with the heads still on that you can get in Chinese restaurants. They're fun to peel and eat at the table, though when deep fried, the shells are so light and crunchy you can eat them heads and all if you are so inclined. But to recreate at home, you need a deep fryer, or at least a big pan full of oil, which is a pain to deal with in a small kitchen and will stink up a New York-sized apartment for a couple of days. Here is a way to recreate those intense flavors of fresh shrimp, garlic, spicy peppers, and salt, very quickly and without the mess.

Note: I used large shrimp with the heads on that I got in Chinatown for less than $4 a pound. Pick the freshest looking and smelling shrimp you can find. My shrimp were about 5" long head to tail, and about 18-20 count per pound - enough to feed 4-6 people as an appetizer or 2-3 as a main course.

For every 1 pound of shrimp, you will need:

1 pound of fresh raw shrimp, heads and shells on

1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped (If you want to keep the heat down, remove the seeds and ribs before chopping.)
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped (Not grated or pressed. Chopped garlic will distribute itself throughout the shrimp without clumping or burning.)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2  to 2 teaspoons kosher or flaky sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the broiler. Rinse the shrimp quickly under cool water to remove any dirt or sand, then drain and pat dry immediately. Do not soak the shrimp or they will become water-logged and you'll wash away flavor. Place the shrimp on a baking pan that will fit under the broiler. (I have a gas stove with a small broiler below the oven, and a 9" x 12" x 1" high disposable brownie pan fits perfectly. If you can't find a pan to fit, make one by crimping the edges around a piece of aluminum foil. If you're using an electric stove, make sure the rack is as close to the element as it will go.)

Add the garlic, jalapeño, and olive oil, and mix together with your hands. Now, lay the shrimp on the pan in a single layer and sprinkle with the salt and lots of freshly ground pepper. It will seem like you're adding a lot of salt, but the shrimp meat is protected by the shells. (Just make sure you're using a flaky salt like kosher salt. If you only have fine table salt available, you'll have to add much less than the recipe calls for because the grain is smaller and therefore saltier by volume.) Mix together with your hands again to distribute the salt. Rearrange the shrimp for cooking in a single layer.

Place the shrimp under the broiler and do not walk away! They cook very quickly. Cook until pink on one side, still gray on the underside, about 1 1/2 minutes. Immediately remove the pan, turn the shrimp over, and return to the broiler for about 1 minute until just cooked through. (No one wants a rubbery, over-cooked shrimp.) The shells should be lightly caramelized and may even char a little. This is good! It adds flavor and the meat is protected by the shell.

Pile these guys on a big platter and server family style with a bowl for the discarded shells. Or arrange prettily on individual plates. Either way, this is a hands on eating experience. Leftovers are great peeled and tossed with pasta or over a spinach salad.

Better-Than-Falafel Balls

The problem with falafel is that it tends to be dry. Enter falafel balls made with raw hummus. They're crunchy on the outside, creamy and smooth on the inside. Serve in a warm pita with plain yogurt, hot sauce or harissa thinned with a little lemon juice, sliced red onion, lettuce, mint, and cilantro. Or serve as an appetizer with a squeeze of lemon and a little dish of yogurt sauce for dipping.

You will need:

Raw hummus (1 cup of hummus yields about 6, 1-inch diameter balls)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin per cup of hummus
Extra virgin olive oil
Vegetable oil
Lemon, cut into wedges (optional)
Fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional) 

for the yogurt sauce, mix together the following.....

Plain yogurt
Salt 
Pepper
Squeeze of lemon

Directions:

Note: I made the falafel balls with cold hummus straight from the fridge. They turned out crunchy and dark golden brown on the outside, warm and creamy and still hummus-y on the inside. If you prefer a more cooked falafel, let the hummus come to room temperature before you fry the balls. (The warmer the hummus, the sticker and harder to handle it is, and the more it will tend to form disks as it cooks rather than balls. Wetting your hands first will make rolling easier.)

Stir the cumin into the hummus. Using your hands, form into 1-inch diameter balls.  In a shallow saute pan, add a quarter-inch of a mix of olive and vegetable oil. (The olive oil is for flavor, the vegetable oil raises the oil's smoke point so you can fry at a higher temperature without burning the oil.) Heat the oil to medium high. Making sure not to crowd the pan, fry the balls on all sides, about 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. (The way they sit in the pan, they'll develop 3 flat sides.) Lower the oil temperature as you go if the balls get too dark before they develop a nice golden crust. Drain briefly on a plate lined with paper towel, and serve immediately with wedges of lemon, yogurt sauce, and a garnish of fresh mint leaves.

(Almost) Raw Hummus

 

The idea for this particular recipe came from a good friend of my very health conscious roommate, Tai. I never thought of eating chickpeas raw, but they work beautifully here. (I usually make hummus with canned chickpeas, but the texture tends toward mushiness, the sodium content is high, and the flavor, flat.) The raw chickpeas, soaked for 36 hours, have a bright, grassy flavor. The texture is smooth but nutty and earthy, a bit like chunky peanut butter. What makes this "almost" raw is the tahini paste - a Middle Eastern staple made from lightly toasted sesame seeds. You're welcome to make this recipe completely raw by using raw tahini from a health food store - I haven't tried it, so I can't speak to the taste difference. (Generally, toasting enhances and deepens the flavor of a nut or spice.) Conversely, you're also welcome to use these proportions as a general guide and use cooked or canned chickpeas. (You probably won't need to add water.) And keep in mind, this recipe really is just a starting point, so adjust to your taste. I like lots of tahini and a hint of raw garlic. Play around with it until you develop your own favorite balance. And leftovers make amazing homemade falafel.

You will need: 

Dried chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), preferably organic. (1 cup of dried peas yields approximately 2 and 3/4 cups re-hydrated.) Rinse and pick out any pebbles or discolored beans. Place in a large bowl, and add cool water until water level is 2 inches above the peas. Cover bowl and leave at room temperature for 36 hours. Every 12 hours, rinse well and change water.

For every 1 cup of re-hydrated chickpeas, you will need:

2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons tahini. As with natural peanut butter, the oil can separate. Make sure you mix it together before using. 
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, approximately 1/4 of a large, juicy lemon. Room temperature lemons are easier to juice. You'll also get more juice if you roll the whole lemon on the counter top, using lots of pressure and the heel of your hand.
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, about half of a medium-size clove. I like to grate the garlic with a microplane.
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, less if you're using standard table salt. 

Directions: 

Using a sturdy blender or food processor, pulse all the ingredients together until smooth. The texture will still be slightly chunky, but the beans will be broken up into little pieces. Every few seconds, stops the motor and mix up the hummus with a spatula to keep the blade from getting stuck. If you find that it's too dry or chunky, add additional water a teaspoon at a time to keep things moving.

I like my hummus with a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and a sprinkling of paprika, served with veggies or crisp pita chips. Consider these additions as well:

A sprinkle of  cayenne pepper or chili power (plain chili, or the kind with oregano and cumin)
Chopped fresh oregano or parsley
Chopped and pitted cured black olives
Lemon zest
Roasted red peppers
Toasted pine nuts
Roasted garlic
Infused olive oil (basil, garlic, lemon)